The rollback would be implemented for golfers of all levels in 2030—different than the bifurcated proposal those governing bodies put forward earlier this year. The USGA and R&A predict a 10-15 yards decrease for golf’s longest hitters, down to 1-5 yards for amateurs.

We have finalized the next step in our years-long effort to address consistent increases in hitting distance and golf’s sustainability.

These changes to the Overall Distance Standard will take effect in January 2028.

— USGA (@USGA) December 6, 2023

Naturally, the rule change caused an eruption from golfers on all sides. Let’s break down some of the most noteworthy reactions.

Bridgestone Golf

Golf ball maker Bridgestone Golf issued a statement effectively saying they don’t like it, but they accept it and are moving on.

Bridgestone Golf statement regarding USGA/R&A distance roll back announcement: pic.twitter.com/L290S6nJtX

— Bridgestone Golf (@bridgestonegolf) December 6, 2023

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy has been outspoken in support of his rollback. After a tweet over the weekend, McIlroy joined Sky Sports on Wednesday morning to support the official proposal, saying that it’ll lead to a more “skilled” game.

"I think this change will make the game more skilful again" ?

World number two golfer Rory McIlroy has backed the new changes to rules regarding golf ball specifications which will see a reduce in distance they travel ?️? pic.twitter.com/XamHvgVhBA

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 6, 2023

TaylorMade Golf

McIlroy’s sponsor, TaylorMade Golf, released a statement on the rollback, expressing opposition but acceptance. On Golf Channel, the company’s CEO David Abeles said: “This decision has been made, and we will move forward.”

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour, with a vast majority of players being against the decision, released a statement questioning the specifics of the new testing protocols, saying they aren’t representative of on-course speeds.

Callaway Golf

Callaway Golf carved out a unique position, expressing disappointment that the USGA moved away from a bifurcated proposal.

PGA of America

The PGA of America released a statement praising the delayed timeline of implementing the new rule, but expressing concerns over a “greater reduction of distance than we would advise” for recreational players.

We appreciate that the USGA and R&A ran a collaborative and patient process over the past several years. We are particularly gratified that they heard our concerns regarding the significant operational challenges bifurcation would have presented and are no longer considering a local rule regarding the ball for elite players. We are also pleased that the proposed change to the ball has been delayed until 2028 for elite players and 2030 for recreational golfers. Given the important role our nearly 30,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals play in the recreational game, having more time to adjust to the new rule is helpful. We remain opposed to any change that may potentially lessen the enjoyment of the game for recreational golfers or diminish the unprecedented momentum the game is enjoying. It appears recreational golfers will see a greater reduction in distance than we would advise. While this decrease has been lessened, we continue to recommend being more moderate on the swing speed change for the golf ball conformance test. At this time, we continue to have concerns and look forward to continuing this important conversation and finding resolution with all of our golf industry partners.

USGA and R&A CEOs Mike Whan and Martin Slumbers

Defending their own proposal on Golf Channel, Slumbers said that the move was designed to “protect the long-term health and sustainability of the game…with the environmental concerns,” while Whan punched back against some of the proposal’s critics:

“There’s gonna be a lot of ambulance chasers and alarmists that are gonna make this thing seem so much worse than it really is. … I don’t want a few loud voices that are trying to get more clicks and more viewers and more phone calls to drive a frenzy that quite frankly isn’t based in fact.”

.@RandA and @USGA CEOs Martin Slumbers and Mike Whan detail what the universal golf ball rollback announcement means for players of all levels.

?: @GolfCentral breaking news coverage live now on Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/remf2OX3Q2

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) December 6, 2023

Main image: Mike Ehrmann

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Rahm enters this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions having signed a multiyear agreement with Callaway where he eventually will play a full bag of the company’s clubs and golf ball. At Kapalua, Rahm will have a Callaway prototype driver (the company has a new Epic Max, Epic Max LS and Epic Speed on the USGA conforming list), prototype irons and the Chrome Soft X Ball in play while keeping his TaylorMade wedges and putter for now. Rahm also will wear a hat with Callaway on the front and use the company’s staff bag. On the apparel front he will wear clothes from Travis Mathew, a sister brand of Callaway’s.

“I’m so happy to be joining Callaway, and I can’t wait to start the year,” Rahm said in a statement. “The equipment is already performing well for me, and in my first round with the new setup, I shot a course record 59 at Silverleaf [in Scottsdale, Ariz.]. I have confidence in my new Callaway clubs—and especially the golf ball, which has really impressed me during the testing process.”

The move, which has been rumored for a couple of months, is not a complete surprise. On TaylorMade’s side, it is akin to the championship team simply not being able to keep all its star players when the price gets too, well, pricey. On Callaway’s end, Phil Mickelson has been Callaway’s standard bearer since signing in September 2004, but he hit 50 years old last year and the company needs another marquee player to pair with Xander Schauffele. It also makes sense to bring on golfer with strong appeal in Europe, which the 26-year-old Spaniard possesses, and the company’s current Euro Tour staff players do not.

Rahm is not unfamiliar with Callaway and Odyssey equipment, either, using the company’s equipment at Arizona State University, where he won 11 tournaments playing for coach Tim Mickelson.

There are bound to be calls that Rahm is taking a substantial risk in changing equipment only five months removed from having briefly held the No. 1 spot in the World Ranking. That used to be a fair charge, and the equipment landscape of several decades ago frequently saw players experience failed seasons after cashing in on a lucrative equipment deal. Now, however, the likelihood of that is far less for several reasons.

For starters, the stakes are too high for a company to tie a player to a specific product. Companies receive little value from a player performing poorly. As such, they now tend to use marquee players more as full-brand ambassadors rather than to pitch a specific driver or iron. Like with Callaway and Rahm, they also often allow a player to take his time to work into the full bag of clubs. Years ago, players would be offered contracts and their agents would close the deal before they even saw the equipment they would have to play. Now players extensively test equipment before even considering a contract. There’s simply too big an investment being made by both sides to have a player not feel comfortable with what they’re playing.

Getting them comfortable is easier now, too. Fitting tools such as launch monitors and adjustable metal woods are better. Manufacturing processes are better, and tolerances are tighter, meaning any clubs built specifically for a player are more likely to hit the correct specs, making the transition from one club to another more seamless than ever before.

Rahm, who won a pair of PGA Tour events in 2020, worked extensively with Callaway’s tour department to dial in the specs for each of his new clubs and the ball.

“In preparation for Jon’s fitting, we diligently studied his driving performance stats and preferred launch/spin conditions,” said Jacob Davidson, PGA Tour rep for Callaway. “This allowed us to build Jon a driver that immediately caught his attention after the first few swings. We then made a few minor adjustments and started to study the launch monitor numbers. The ball speeds were impressive but more importantly we saw his dispersion move tighter down range.

“We wanted to allow him to start his ball testing from the green and work back to the driver,” Davidson said. “We had Jon hit a few shots with each club in the bag to determine which golf ball would be the best fit for him. It was clear very quickly the Chrome Soft X would be his best option. While he was hitting pitch shots, he immediately noticed the golf ball launched lower and was spinning significantly more. This allowed Jon to control the ball flight and trajectory resulting in increased performance green side. As we moved to the irons and driver, Jon was hitting a lot of shots into the wind to test the ball’s performance, and was surprised to see extremely tight spin separations on full and half shots. … His ability to feel the smallest nuances in club adjustments and articulate what he is feeling allows us the opportunity to give him the best performing equipment for him.”

History might also be on Rahm’s side. Tiger Woods won a host of majors after switching to Nike equipment and then his fifth Masters after going to TaylorMade. Phil Mickelson won his first major after leaving Yonex for Titleist and his other four majors after leaving Titleist for Callaway. Ernie Els has won four majors with three different equipment brands—Lynx (1994 U.S. Open), TaylorMade (1997 U.S. Open and 2002 British Open) and Callaway (2012 British Open). Rory McIlroy won two of his four majors after leaving Titleist for Nike. Rahm is a rising star who could easily find similar success.

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By Mike Stachura
To show how dramatically 2020 flipped for the golf equipment business, all you have to do is consider Callaway Golf. In April, the company was quickly searching for emergency capital and its CEO, Chip Brewer, had announced he was forgoing his salary in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Barely six months later, the equipment maker’s pace of recovery was exceeding expectations, golf emerging as a safe, socially distant activity during the pandemic and participation numbers surging.

Last week, Brewer orchestrated one of the largest deals in golf business history with the announcement of Callaway’s $2 billion merger with Topgolf. Callaway, which already had a 14-percent stake in Topgolf and has been invested in the company since 2006, will combine with Topgolf in an all-stock transaction. The deal brings the premium golf brand and the driving range/entertainment venue under the Callaway portfolio, which also includes apparel/outdoor equipment brand Jack Wolfskin and apparel company Travis Mathew. Topgolf has 58 driving range/entertainment centres across the U.S., as well as the Toptracer Range business, which turns standard driving-range bays into digital learning and practice centres that enable users to play and compete on virtual golf courses.

Brewer spoke with Golf Digest about the merger and what to expect from Callaway and Topgolf moving forward.

Golf Digest: Not the year you might have predicted back in March and April, right?

Chip Brewer: We had no idea where it was headed. It was crazy. We were just worried about survival, and no clear path for that. But clearly golf has been a net benefactor in all this. I think when we look back, [this year’s participation surge] is going to increase the long-term growth rate of the game. Without commuting to work, you might have the ability to go play nine holes with the family—or, quite honestly, visit Topgolf—that you didn’t have before. And I don’t think that part will ever go back to where it was.

As for Topgolf, you two have been circling each other for a long time. Why was this the moment, as opposed to two years ago or five years from now?
Topgolf was on its way to becoming an independent public company at the beginning of the year. We were concentrating on doing our own thing, and both of us were going well. All of a sudden COVID happens, and everybody’s world is turned upside down. The IPO is off the table. We are in survival mode. But then the golf world comes roaring back. Our business is stronger than ever, and the tailwinds associated with it are pretty clear.

For Topgolf, they had to shut down, but then they were able to open back up, and now they’re in a really attractive spot, too, because they have the trends of golf and the trends of people wanting to have safe social connections. Both of these businesses are really well-positioned for the trends and reality of a COVID world and a post-COVID world.

Callaway CEO Chip Brewer

Are these two different audiences, or does Topgolf strongly feed the traditional game, too?

What excites me about it is it really makes our total addressable market so large. It really is just a math equation that gets really exciting from a business perspective and a synergy perspective.

There are 24 million people in the U.S. that play golf according to the National Golf Foundation. A lot of those people play one time a year so are they Callaway’s addressable market? Well, maybe, but are they going to buy a $1,000 set of irons or a $500 driver? Unlikely. [But] if you can digitize this driving range and make it more fun, you can connect with a player who’s working on his game, track all his shots and know exactly what he’s working on. Callaway then has access to that golfer’s data and can immediately and directly connect with that golfer. I think with the input and reach of Callaway Golf, we’re going to be able to grow that faster and use all that data.

What specific things might we see between the two businesses going forward?
Now that we’re merging these companies, I’m clearly going to tell my marketing team, ‘Help Topgolf out.’ I want to see Topgolf occasionally on the sides of hats. I want to see it on tour. I want to see it in our marketing, in our consumer reach. I want to see it with partners. I want to see us drive same venue sales, visits into Topgolf. It’s in our best interest to do that. They will drive us, and we will drive them. Both sides will grow.

What does this union say about the game as a whole? And given the huge participation numbers we’ve seen this year, where does Topgolf go from here? Couldn’t it be said that a lot of those non-golfers who might have gone to Topgolf in the past actually went out and played golf this year?
Candidly, I think this is just good for golf. You have to have access to golf somewhere to get into the game, and Topgolf is that access point. The fact is you don’t have caddies anymore. Way back, caddying was the way to get into the game. Now, it’s Topgolf. It’s fun, the reach is broad and it’s going to get bigger. It really creates a kind of flywheel effect, where it’s creating new golfers and then you can get them even more interested and move them further down the path of becoming more avid because they go to a Toptracer Range. The fact that it’s good for golf makes me happy, as well. I don’t have the luxury of doing it just because it’s good for golf, but you know that’s important to me.

No question there’s a different directional growth opportunity here. Golf’s problem of growth is that it’s always looked internally and that can only go so far. This is different, no?It is working and the reason I believe it is, is you have to look at it more broadly. You know, it takes a long time to see that kind of growth in the data, and Topgolf had to get enough scale to have that kind of wide impact on the game. Topgolf to this point has been a regional play. I think it does fine in all the places it’s gone to, in all kinds of weather. It can be in Minneapolis, it can be everywhere. But they haven’t grown it to the point where it can have that kind of large-scale impact. It hasn’t penetrated a place like California yet. And if you want to move the needle, you have to be there. You have to get into New York. You have to get national. There’s 58 of them but there’s going to be plans for 200.

I imagine the fun part of this for you isn’t the way Callaway benefits, but how you can make Topgolf better, right?
Exactly. I really believe both businesses are better as a result of this merger. It’s just so clear to me, and I believe in it so fervently. It’s one of the more obvious scenarios where both companies are complementary and making each other better so clearly so quickly.

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By Tod Leonard
Business-wise, Callaway and Topgolf were already joined at the hip. After a merger was announced Tuesday, they have gone all-in with each other on the future of the golf-as-entertainment platform.

The companies said they have entered into a definitive merger agreement in which they will combine in an all-stock deal. Callaway said the number of shares to be issued is based on Topgolf’s implied equity value of approximately $2 billion, including the 14 percent already owned by Callaway, which first invested in Topgolf in 2006.

RELATED: A beginner’s guide to Topgolf

In its press release, Callaway said Topgolf generated approximately $1.1 billion in revenue in 2019 and has grown at a 30-percent compound rate since 2017. Callaway called Topgolf “a high-growth platform with attractive unit economics across its business that will benefit from Callaway’s strong financial position that can fully fund Topgolf’s growth plans at an attractive cost of capital.”

The transaction is subject to the approval of the shareholders of both Callaway and Topgolf, as well as regulatory approval. The companies expect to complete the transaction in early 2021.

The deal comes amid a big upswing in business for Callaway as golf has experienced a boom in participation and sales during the coronavirus pandemic. Callaway is estimating that it will have net sales of $476 million in the third quarter that ended on Sept. 30. That is up 12 percent over last year. The company said its e-commerce is thriving, including a 108 percent increase in soft goods sales this year.

“The world is rediscovering golf in a way that has led to a record quarter for our company,” Chip Brewer, Callaway’s president and CEO, said in the release. “Both our golf equipment and soft goods business are recovering more quickly than we expected, and our third quarter projections reflect this momentum.”

Founded in 2000, Topgolf has 63 locations around the world, and it reports having more than 23 million guests in 2019, with more than 50 percent of users identifying themselves as “non-golfers.” It also has expanded from fixed, stand-alone buildings to more than 7,500 range bays that use the Toptracer technology that fans see every week on televised golf broadcasts.

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By E. Michael Johnson
That Daniel Berger won the Charles Schwab Challenge really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Berger’s game was trending nicely when the PGA Tour’s season was suspended after the first round of the Players Championship. In fact, Berger had straight three top-10s heading into the Players with a T-9 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open; T-5 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and T-4 at the Honda Classic.

Still, Berger’s win in overtime against Collin Morikawa wasn’t merely a continuation of Berger’s fine play from earlier in the year. Berger has put a renewed emphasis on working on his short game and also had some time to heal up during the hiatus, something that was on display as he got up-and-down on the first extra hole, which proved the difference when Morikawa missed a short putt that would have extended the tournament.

“It was kind of a nice little refresher,” Berger said of the break. “I had played a lot of golf leading up to that point and still battling a little bit of that finger [and] wrist injury, so it was nice to have a month or two off to kind of let that heal, but overall I feel great. I’m just happy to be back.”

Back in the winner’s circle as well. Berger used a reliable iron game with a split set of irons that have some mileage on them. His Callaway Apex 3-iron is from 2016 and his TaylorMade MC 11 4-iron through pitching wedge date back to 2011. Berger used the irons to hit 77.78 percent of his greens in regulation. Coupled with some strength off the tee, averaging 306.1 yards with his Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero driver, Berger had enough for the win.

“I wanted it more than I ever wanted it before,” Berger told CBS afterwards. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world.”

What Daniel Berger had in his bag at the Charles Schwab Challenge:

Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero (Fujikura Ventus 6x Black), 10.5 degrees
3-wood: Callaway Epic Flash
Irons (3): Callaway Apex 16; (4-PW): TaylorMade MC Forged 11
Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy Forged (50, 56 degrees); Callaway Mack Daddy 4 (60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Chalk

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The announcement is part of an SEC filing from the company on Monday. Callaway had announced last week that it would be revising its fiscal year earnings guidance, as well as other cost-cutting measures. A story in the San Diego Union-Tribune last week noted that the company was “taking steps to reduce costs and conserve cash.”

The announcement notes that the Callaway CEO “has voluntarily elected to forgo any base salary beginning with the next scheduled pay period.” According to company documents, Brewer’s base salary in 2019 was $900,000, although like many CEOs of publicly traded companies, his total compensation included stock incentives and other elements that went beyond a base salary. In 2019, his total compensation was listed at $5.8 million.

The filing also details that Callaway executive vice president and chief financial officer Brian Lynch, as well as other executive officers, have elected to reduce their base salaries by 20 percent, while other senior management and other employees’ pay was “reduced in graduated amounts.” Also, the company’s board of directors has voluntarily elected to waive its annual cash retainer fees for 2020.

In rescinding its 2020 financial guidance in an SEC form March 25, the company said, “We are proactively taking actions to significantly reduce costs and conserve cash for as long as may be required in light of current conditions. … We believe the company has adequate cash on hand and borrowing capacity under its credit facilities. In addition, the company is taking significant steps to reduce discretionary spending and infrastructure costs on a worldwide basis.

“With this increased liquidity, cost-reduction actions, our geographic diversity and the strength of our brands, we believe we have adequate liquidity to sustain our business through this crisis.”

Brewer joins a list of many corporate CEOs taking pay cuts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Those include leaders at major airlines (Delta, United, Southwest, JetBlue) and hotel companies (Marriott, Wyndham). Also, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced last month that he would be forgoing his salary and several tour executives would be reducing their salaries by 25 percent.

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By E. Michael Johnson
After an emotional farewell in early February at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Johnny Miller is back on the airwaves a little more than three months later.

However, before you carve out time this weekend expecting to see Miller back in the saddle as an analyst for golf telecasts, Miller’s “comeback” is a little more in line with someone who is retired. Callaway Golf announced on Wednesday it had reached an agreement with the hall of famer to be a brand ambassador for the company, a position which will include “a variety of content development projects, including the original podcast “Real Golf Talk with Johnny Miller.”

“I am proud to be returning to Callaway [Miller had been a Callaway staffer a number of years ago] and working with the company’s incredible team on some exciting new projects,” Miller said. “It feels like a homecoming for me, and I think golf fans will really enjoy what we have coming, starting with our new Real Golf Talk podcast.”

The podcast launches May 22 on iTunes and a variety of other platforms. Sitting alongside the two-time major champion will be Chris Harrison—an avid golfer best known for his host duties on ABC’s The Bachelor franchise—as the host.

“Johnny Miller was a legend on the course and in the TV booth there was no equal,” Harrison said in a statement from Callaway. “I know he’s got more to say on the world of golf and the world in general. There’s no chance I’m missing the opportunity to sit next to him.”

Befitting a man of retirement age, the podcast won’t be an arduous endeavour for Miller as it will feature just six episodes in 2019, which will air after major events on the golf calendar. The podcast will increase to eight episodes in future seasons. To listen on Soundcloud, click here.

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But when you want to change the possibilities for distance and ball speed in a game where the rules seemingly have you hemmed in at every turn, you’ve got to think not merely outside the box, you’ve got to think with a new brain. Probably a new box, too.

So Callaway’s engineers taught a super-computer to design a faster driver than they’d ever seen before.

Of course, the face is not merely unlike anything that has been seen before—it literally could not have been humanly imagined.

“We needed a completely different design process, essentially one that took us, the human engineers, out of the loop a little bit and replaced us with a computer that could analyze the contributions of different parameters of the face at maybe a deeper level than human engineers had been capable of,” said Alan Hocknell, Callaway’s senior vice president of research and development, in talking about the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in designing the new face. “In order to do that though we had to create the circumstance where we could teach the computer to learn how to design a driver face by itself.”

We’re not going to get too far into the weeds on what machine learning is, but suffice it to say it’s where a computer technically gets smarter not only than human engineers, but in ways human engineers would never have considered. According to Hocknell, the process for designing the Epic Flash produced 15,000 iterations when a traditional driver design process might only yield eight or 10. It required a supercomputer running 24 hours a day, seven days a week for four weeks straight. For perspective, had the same calculations been tried on a typical laptop, it would have taken 34 years.

The result Callaway says is unique face flexing where most impacts occur and better energy transfer than was possible before. Or, as Hocknell puts it, “Your best shots just got a whole lot better. This face is kind of delivering double-plus ball speed in the area where the highest percentage of impacts occur.”

The back of the Epic Flash face features an almost schizophrenic series of swirls and ridges with thick and thin areas varying in atypical ways. Under magnification it looks like a moguls run at the winter Olympics. Where most driver faces feature a thick section in the middle that gets thinner as it reaches the perimeter, the face on Epic Flash has some of its thinnest sections in the middle. It created more face deflection than any Callaway face before, a boost to the spring-like effect, what’s known in the rules as coefficient of restitution (COR).

“Ultimately, when you look at COR the whole objective is to minimize the amount of energy lost to the ball during impact,” said Evan Gibbs, Callaway’s director of research and development for woods. “The way that you do that is to have the face deform more, which means the ball deforms less and you get a more efficient transfer of energy.”

Epic Flash, along with its low-spin counterpart Epic Flash Sub Zero, deforms significantly more at impact than past Callaway drivers, according to Gibbs. It’s a function of the new face design working specifically within the jailbreak structure, first debuted in the Epic driver two years ago. In both Epic and its followup Rogue, thin titanium bars join the crown and sole to stiffen those regions and concentrate more potential flexing in the face. Epic Flash takes advantage of that structure in ways traditional variable thickness faces could not.

“What jailbreak did was it stiffened a part of the head to make another part more flexible—that was very counterintuitive at the time,” Gibbs said. “With Epic Flash, we wanted to see a similar effect just by the face design. We wanted to figure out how to stiffen some parts of the face that we might not have done in the past in order to make other parts of the face more flexible.”

The face insert’s intricate geometry is achieved by forging and heat treating the titanium for improved flexibility and speed. Laser scanners and the USGA’s pendulum tester for ball speed are used multiple times in the manufacturing process, including an average of five pendulum tests for every head.

Mis-hits also are benefiting from other improvements in the new design. Epic Flash features an updated version of its triaxial carbon composite material used in the crown. The saved weight from the lighter material is redistributed in the head for more forgiveness on off-center hits and more consistent speed, spin and launch conditions across the face. The Epic Flash has about a six percent higher moment of inertia, or resistance to twisting on off-centre hits, than the original Epic.

The other beneficiary of the saved weight is a sliding weight track in the rear perimeter that tweaks draw and fade bias. The Epic Flash uses a 16-gram weight, while the Epic Flash Sub Zero features a 12-gram weight.

The Epic Flash technology extends to a line of fairway woods, as well. Again, the face was shaped through the input of artificial intelligence. Informed by the learnings of the driver face design, the Epic Flash fairway wood face is distinctly geared to the needs of a club that is used to hit shots off the ground, not just off a tee. A thicker ring near the perimeter is surrounded by thinner sections both in the center and beyond the perimeter of the ring in the fairway wood’s varying face thickness design.

“It had this different goal in mind for ball speed not just from the center but for impact locations relatively low on the face and therefore it came out slightly different,” Hocknell said, noting that the high-strength Carpenter 455 steel also posed different requirements to maximise face flexing compared to titanium on the driver.

Like last year’s Rogue fairway woods, the Epic Flash fairway woods feature the jailbreak structure to concentrate more flexing in the face. A lighter, eight-way adjustable hosel increases fitting options while keeping the centre of gravity low.

The Epic Flash family of metalwoods will be in U.S. stores Feb. 1 and available in the following – Driver: Epic Flash (9, 10.5 and 12); Epic Flash Sub Zero (9, 10.5). Fairway woods: Epic Flash (3+, 3, 5, Heavenwood, 7, 9, 11) ; Epic Flash Sub Zero (3+, 3, 5).

Ed’s note: Middle East pricing and release dates are still to be confirmed.

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That’s why the company is debuting three new balls aimed at players who will never get closer to being in a tour event than the gallery ropes. The lineup includes the next generation of Supersoft, the popular two-piece low-compression ball; an oversized ball aimed at making launching shots easier, Supersoft Magna; and the ERC Soft, a new kind of ball that Callaway golf ball R&D boss Dave Bartels calls “a distance ball that isn’t your conventional distance ball.”

ERC Soft is easily the most ambitious of the new offerings, Bartels said: “What if we could take all the innovations we’ve developed thus far and combine that with what we’re currently working on— how different could we make a ball at this price point?”

Chris Otsen

The difference in the ERC Soft comes from bringing to the distance category the two-piece core introduced last year in the company’s tour-proven Chrome Soft balls. That core uses graphene, a one-atom thick nanoparticle in the outer core layer to increase the difference in compression between the outer core and the inner core to help full shots launch higher with less spin. On the ERC Soft, the graphene-infused dual core is larger, including a larger inner core.

“That helped us achieve soft compression with low spin without sacrificing ball speed,” Bartels said. “In parallel to that, we’ve been working on a new cover material that’s kind of a hybrid between the conventional surlyn and our tour premium urethane material. It’s kind of a base Surlyn foundational recipe where we add two unique proprietary ingredients to that to increase ball speed and increase durability.

“Those together really increase the ball speed and allow us to achieve some level of spin around the green that isn’t really seen in distance golf balls.”

Bartels said the new “hybrid cover” is aimed at satisfying the needs of most golfers, even on shots around the green where typically balls with a urethane cover have a spin advantage.

“This ball will provide a certain level of spin that satisfies the majority of golfers out there,” he said. “It really does perform better around the green than many urethane balls on the market.”

Completing the ERC Soft’s features is a three-line alignment graphic that is based on hyperacuity science and how the eyes focus on the relative position of an object. “It’s scientifically proven that it helps your eyes align the product better when you have three lines in parallel with a certain spacing and a certain colour configuration that we’ve put on this golf ball,” Bartels said.

Chris Otsen

Supersoft

The latest generation of Callaway’s low-compression two-piece ball was built on the concept of “do no harm.” The popular ball’s soft feel has been its calling card along with its low-spin distance, and Bartels said the golf ball R&D team’s only challenge was “to make it longer without changing the overall playability.”

The new Supersoft features redesigned hexagonal dimple pattern for improved low-spin aerodynamics. The Supersoft’s feel was maintained through a new softer cover that Bartels said “improves spin around the green and makes the overall compression a little softer.”

In addition to its standard white and yellow offerings, the new Supersoft line also will incorporate four new matte finish colours (red, pink, green and orange).

Chris Otsen

Supersoft Magna
Perhaps the most interesting of the three new balls are the new Supersoft Magna, an oversized golf ball aimed at everyday players looking for a ball that might improve launch and solid contact. The oversized Magna franchise was introduced a quarter century ago with the idea of straighter flight and forgiveness, and this iteration brings the soft feel, low-spin, low-compression benefits of Supersoft with the visual benefits of a larger ball.

“It’s built on the same chassis as Supersoft, with extremely low compression,” Bartels said. “The cover is a little bit thicker on Magna to make up for the extra size and what both of those things do in combination is they help the ball launch higher and with very low spin.”

Bartels said the appeal is that the oversized ball looks almost like it’s teed up in the fairway, which inspires confidence in average golfers.

“We were seeing the quality of the shot was better,” he said. “Some golfers who don’t generally have solid contact are gaining the ball speed and better launch conditions by making better contact off the centre of the club face.”

Supersoft, Supersoft Magna and ERC Soft will be in stores Feb. 8.

Ed’s Note: Middle East pricing and availability has yet to be released. 

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A collaboration between Phil Mickelson and Roger Cleveland, the PM Grind (2019) expands its offerings this year into a few lower lofts, an update from the original high-lofted one-off designed for—and by—Mickelson and his famous flop shots. The new line is focused on helping golfers hit the three short-game shots Mickelson believes are key. That includes the aforementioned flop shot, as well as a high-spin, quickly checking pitch and the low-flighted knockdown.

The design of the wedges emphasize those shots in three specific ways. First, from a spin standpoint the design incorporates Callaway’s wide grooves and unique raised ridges between the grooves that provide some 80 contact points with the ball for better grab. Once again, the PM Grind features grooves that extend fully across and up and down the entire face, but to improve the potential for spin on flop shots the ridges in between the grooves are canted at a 20-degree angle to match how the face is open and cutting across the ball when hitting these shots.

Second, more weight is positioned higher in the toe to create a higher centre of gravity for a more penetrating flight.

Third, the wedges feature more offset than traditional wedges, setting the leading edge of the club slightly behind the shaft. The idea is this better facilitates positioning the hands forward of the ball when hitting the knockdown shot.

“Working with Phil on the PM grind wedges has been a fantastic experience,” said Cleveland. “His insights are always spot-on, and implementing them to create something innovative like the PM Grind 2019 is incredibly satisfying. This wedge is going to help a lot of players hit shots they couldn’t hit before.”

The PM Grind will be offered in five lofts (54, 56, 58, 60, 64 degrees). They will be in stores Feb. 15.

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